Powder-actuated fastener



Sept. 12, 1961 P HUBER 2,999,571

POWDER-ACTUATED FASTENER Filed Sept. 12, 1958 FIG.I

E W P. KIJ Q EK ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,999,571 POWDER-ACTUATED FASTENER Peter H. Huber, Allied Service, N. River Drive, Hampton, Ill.

Filed Sept. 12, 1958, Ser. No. 760,703 1 Claim. (Cl. 189-36) This invention relates to a powder-actuated fastener or the like of the type that is fired into concrete, steel, wood, etc. from a gun-like tool powered by a powder charge or propellant cartridge.

Tools and fasteners of this general type are of course well known and have been used successfully in the building and construction industries for the erection, mounting and supporting of all kinds of structural members in walls, floors, ceilings etc. The gun or tool conventionally comprises a barrel which is loaded by a selected fastener and a cartridge or powder charge designed for the size fastener and for the material to be penetrated by the fastener, and fasteners are typically furnished in various diameters and lengths for the tasks at hand. In the cases of fasteners of relatively small diameters, special adapters must be used to carry them in the relatively larger-diameter gun barrels, which somewhat increases the cost of using small-diameter fasteners. Further, in special building situations, added adapters must be used to lengthen or otherwise modify the exposed part of the fastener, and in some cases, the use of the gun and gun-propelled fastener, is dispensed with in favor of projection and like welding methods in order to obtain the set-up desired. This is especially true in wall and ceiling constructions of the so-called sandwich type consisting of a supporting framework on which two or more generally overlying sheets are mounted in spaced relation with insulation in the space therebetween. In this type of construction, the problem is to find and use a suitable fastener which will mount both sheets simply, quickly and inexpensively and yet include a spacing means for maintaining the spaced relation between the sheets.

Heretofore, no satisfactory fastener has been found, but, according to the present invention, the problem discussed is solved by a special fastener adapter for use with a point which penetrates the first sheet and the adjacent support, the adapter element including a barrel affording :a rearward coaxial extension of the point and of larger diameter than the point which thus affords a shoulder abuttingthe first sheet to secure same to the support and which barrel serves also as-a spacer between the sheets, together with an extension on the barrel which serves to mount the second sheet in conjunction with a suitable nut or equivalent cap means. It is a further object of the invention to providethe improved fastener adapter in the form of a barrel element adapted to receive conventional points whereby to exploit the use of avail able points at present low prices. It is a further feature that the barrel, being of larger diameter than the point,

serves as an adapter fitting the gun barrel and thus further reducing costs by dispensing with the need for the purchase of adapters in the case of small-diameter points. The invention has for a still further object the provision on the fastener barrel of shoulder means afiording a still further increased diameter which cooperates with conventional flight check jaws in the gun to limit discharge of the fastener in those cases in which the material being worked on is too light to stop the fastener at the desired point, thereby retaining in the improved fastener accepted principles of safety insuring against injury to workmen and surrounding structures etc.

The foregoing and other important objects and desirable features, inherent in and encompassed by the invention, will become apparent to those versed in the art Patented Sept. 12,, 1961 as preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed, by way of'examples, in the ensuing description and accompanying sheet of drawings, the several figures 0 which are described below.

FIGURE 1 is a representative view, partly in section, of a typical wall construction of the so-cflled sandwich type and illustrating the use of the improved fastener.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged exploded view showing one form of fastener and its components.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view showing the use of a modified form of fastener in a typical gun or powder tool barrel.

FIGURE 4 shows a still further form of fastener.

FIGURE 5 shows a fastener as in FIGURE 4 but modified to embody the flight-check feature.

The sandwich wall construction selected for purposes of illustration is shown as including a support 10, which may be considered as part of a typical framework or the like; a first or inner sheet 12; a second or outer sheet 14; and a layer 16 of insulation or the like between the sheets. The sheets shown are of corrugated metal and the insulation is of the iiber-glass type; although, here, as elsewhere herein, the specific nature of the material or the shapes, sizes, etc. thereof do not constitute limitations on the invention. The fastener of FIGURES 1 and 2 is designated as a whole by the numeral 18 and comprises a point 2i), a barrel 22, a barrel extension 24 and a nut or lock 26.

In the form of the invention shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the barrel and its extension are of one-piece construction and may be of stainless steel, aluminum or any other desired material. The extension 24, which is pref.- erably integral with the barrel, is externally threaded to receive the nut or cap 26 or any equivalent lock,'t=hat shown being of the type having an unthreaded bore 28 which effects a drive fit with the threads on the extension 24 when tapped into place. The barrel proper is of larger diameter than the extension and the junction thereof with the extension affords a rear end radial seat 30. The front end of the barrel affords a front end .seat or radial face 32, and this front end is axially bored and tapped to afford an internally threaded bore 34. The diameters and threading of the bore and extension are matching.

The point 20 is or may be of any commercially available type, here having a rear externally threaded end 36, threadedly receivable by the barrel bore 34, and teeth or serrations 38 for embedding in the support 10 or other structure being worked on. sandwich wall construction shown, the point is securely threaded into the barrel here so as to become a unitary forward extension of the barrel. The assembled fastener is loaded into a typical gun or tool, a suitable charge is added and the gun is held against the sheet 12 which is in turn held against the support Iii. The gun is tired and the point of the assembled fastener penetrates the sheet 12 and the support; and the junction at 32- between the point 2i and barrel 13 affords a seat or enlargement which secures the sheet 12 to the support. The insulation is readily added, since it is easily penetrated by the barrel, and the second sheet, perforated to receive the barrel extension 245, is applied over the extension and the nut or cap added, it being understood of course that the first sheet f2. will be initially secured to the support it! by as many fasteners as are desired before the insulation and second sheet 14 are added. In cases in which the second sheet is of relatively thin material, it need not be previously perforated for the extensions but may be simply held against the extensions and driven into place, forming perforations as it is forced over the extensions. As will be seen, the seat 32, as already mentioned, facil- Before the use in the aaaasri itates the assembly because it holds the first sheet while the insulation and second sheet are applied, which materially speeds up construction.

In instances in which the points are of relatively small diameter, as on the order of one-eighth inch, they will betoo small for conventional gun barrels of three-eighths of an inch, but here the barrel 22 may be made threeeighths of an inch to fit the gun barrel, thus dispensing with the need for special adapters. Consequently the barrel has a plurality of functions.

FIGURE 3 shows a multi-piece fastener 15a as used in a typical gun, the gun barrel of which is designated at 40. The fastener 18a is similar in all material respects to that described above but is modified to include an annular enlargement 42., which establishes a radial shoulder at 44 at the junction between said ei'ilargement and the barrel 22a. This barrel has a front internally threaded axial tapped bore 34a, a rear seat 3 m and a rear coaxial externallythreaded extension 241a respectively identical to the bore 34 and extension 24; on the barrel 22. Hence, the basic difference, for present purposes, is that the element 13a has the shoulder 4-; in addition to a front shoulder 32a at the junction of the barrel 22a and point 2!}. The shoulder 32a serves the same function as that at 32 in securing the first sheet 12 to the support 10 when the gun is tired to project the element 18a. The gun barrel is shown here as including typical flight check jaws 46, affording an opening 48 sufficiently large to pass the diameter of the barrel 22a. but small enough to prevent forward passage of the barrel shoulder i4 and enlargement 42, the. purpose of which is to intercept or check the, flight of the element 18a in the event that the support 16 may be, for example, locally weak and thus enable to stop the fastener point at the position suggested in FIGURE 1. This safety feature prevents the fastener from being propelled through space and thus avoids injury to workmen or surrounding structures etc.

The numeral 54} in FIGURE 3 denotes a typical plastic expandible cap conventionally employed and furnished with the points 29, or similar points, to guide same in the gun barrel, these caps cooperating here with the fastener barrel to secure the coaxial position of the assembled fastener element.

It will be understood of course'that the principles of the invention may be exploited in fastener barrels of any desired size or material, and the proportions of barrel diameters and lengths to those of points may be adjusted as desired.

FIGURE 4 shows a one-piece fastener 18b in which a point 2011, as well as an externally threaded rear extension 24b, is integral with the barrel portion 2221. This design affords the front and rear radial faces or shoulders 32b and 3%.

FIGURE 5 shows a FIGURE 4 type of fastener with the flight-check principles of FlGURE 3 embodied therein.

4 which affords the shoulder 44c, and a front shoulder 32c.

Especially in the forms of the invention embodying the multi-piece fastener, barrels may be provided in several diameters, with varying bores 34 (or 34a) to receive pins of various diameters. Likewise, as already suggested, other sizes may be readily resorted to to accommodate tasks at hand, and many materials are available of which the elements may be constructed. These as well as other variations and uses may be resorted to without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

A powder-actuated fastener of the class. described adapted to be shot into a support structure, comprising: a relatively short pin having front and rear portions of substantially similar diameters except that said front portion terminates in a forward, sharp, support-penetrating point; and a relatively longer barrel of larger diameter than the pin disposed coaxially rearwardly of the pin at the rear portion of said pin, said barrel having a front radial end and a rear radial end, said front radial end being provided with a forwardly opening coaxial bore receiving said rear portion of the pin so that the point of the pin projects a substantial distance ahead of said front radial end, said bore and said rear portion of the pin being so constructed and cooperative as to effect a joint in which the barrel becomes a rigid, rearward, diametrically enlarged extension of the pin whereby the pin and barrel effect a rigid composite preassembledfastener adapted to be fired as a unit, said front radial end of the barrel affording an abrupt annular front abut ment normal to the axis of the pin and barrel and axially offset back from the point for positively abutting the support structure so as to limit penetration of thesupport structure by the fastener and to positively space the rear end of the barrel rearwardly from the structure according to the length of the barrel, and said barrel hav ing at its said rear end a coaxial portion of reduced diameter for receiving a second support structure spaced from the first-named support structure by the length of the barrel and said coaxial portion being further adapted to receive a securing means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,064,503 Temple Dec. 15, 1936 2,142,290 Slocum Ian. 3, 1939 2,355,513 Cox Aug. 8, 1944 2,604,381 Hill July 22, 1952. 2,633,735 Dondero April 7, 1953 2,666,252 Temple Jan. 19, 1954 2,822,764 Widman "Feb. 11, 1958 2,855,817 Kopf Oct. 14, 1958 2,925,602 Kopf et a1 Feb. 23, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 529,320 Belgium Dec. 3, 1954 1,117,318 France Feb. 20, 1956 

